Merry Christmas

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I am getting SO excited for Christmas and have been doing some thinking about what Christmas means to me. . . Love and family are the first words that spring to mind. They make me think about the reason we celebrate Christmas. The birth of Christ. His story is filled with love and family.  Other words that spring to mind are awe and joy. The excitement surrounding Christmas morning has been strong in our house every since I can remember. In fact, as a kid whoever woke up first of my siblings and I, would rush to the other one's room and crawl in bed with the other. We would then wait until 6 am to get up. We had a rule at our house that stockings could get opened at 6 am and presents could be opened at 7 am! Getting up that early didn't end when we realized when we got older. In fact, even in our 20's we would get up at the crack of dawn to race to each other's rooms. Now, we all get up with Calder. It is such an exciting, fun time. . . .

You often here people say, "Put Christ back in Christmas." I wonder about my own traditions and think about the message I am sending my kids about what Christmas is really about. As I reflect on my own childhood I realize that message I am sending is the exact one I received from my parents. Family and love are always first, but getting spoiled one day a year is also part of it. My parents did not lavish me with gifts throughout the year and I can honestly say Hugh and I have done the same with our kids. Calder and Boone have had about $30 total of toys bought for them from us not on their birthdays or Christmas (this does not include books) this year. Christmas is a fun time for Hugh and I because it is the one time a year we let ourselves indulge. Giving gifts feels amazing and it is a big part of our Christmas tradition.

I read THIS great article on the commercialization of Christmas. I do not have any guilt about my spending over the holidays. It is part of what we do. We love and we eat and we decorate and we give. And we do all of this with our family and friends. It is awesome.

Happy Thursday (ONE MORE TEACHING DAY!)

p.s. If you have also heard people debate saying, "Merry Christmas", I read THIS interesting blog by Rambling Dave Sharf.

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